Police are working to identify the body of a woman that was pulled from a lake in northern Indiana, NBC affiliate Woodtv.com reports.
A fisherman spotted the body floating on Lake Charles around 7:10 a.m. Sunday. He called police and reported “something suspicious” floating in the water.
The Indiana State police SCUBA team and Porter Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and pulled the body out of the water. The body was described as that of a female dressed in dark clothing, according to a press release.
The body was initially identified by the deceased’s mother as Dr. Teleka Patrick, who was reported missing on Dec. 6, 2013.
Patrick was last seen on the evening of Dec. 5, 2013 wearing black pants and a black top or coat with a hoodie.
According to Woodtv.com, Patrick’s mother told 24 Hour News 8 over the phone on Sunday afternoon that it was Patrick’s body. She said that her family is in mourning and declined further comment.
But after she hung up another family member called News 8 to say the body had not been positively identified as Patrick’s.
The family member emailed News 8 the following message:
“Our family was informed that a body was found that may be our daughter Teleka Patrick. We are waiting for official confirmation from the Kalamazoo Sheriff’s Department and have no comment at this time. Thank you for your continued prayers-we ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
Chuck Harris, the Porter County coroner, told 24 Hour News 8 that the body’s decomposition made it difficult to make a positive identification. He said fingerprints and dental records would be utilized to make a positive ID. Harris said there was no sign of trauma to the body.
Authorities last searched Lake Charles in January but it was still frozen over, Woodtv reports.
Patrick, a 30-year-old first-year medical resident in psychiatry at the Western Michigan University School of Medicine, was last seen by a courtesy shuttle driver at the Radisson Plaza Hotel on Dec. 5, 2013. He said he dropped her off at her car in the parking lot of the Borgess Medical Center where she worked. Patrick had attempted to rent a room at the Radisson hotel, but she did not have a major credit card.
Amateur detectives on WebSleuths.com unearthed a multitude of old Twitter usernames and at least 20,000 deleted Twitter posts made by Patrick that suggest she heard voices in her head — a sign of schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
The deleted tweets uncovered by the amateur sleuths also indicate that Patrick may have suffered from Erotomania, a mental disorder characterized by a strong, psychotic attraction to a public figure whom the individual believes is telegraphing their romantic interests via messages sent through the television, music, Internet, or photographs.
It was the Websleuths.com amateur detectives who initially discovered the link between the missing doctor and gospel singer Marvin Sapp, whom Patrick was accused of stalking. The national media then reported the connection.
This has been the longest 2 days I think I'm gonna be in bed all day….. #bodyistalking2me
— Marvin L. Sapp (@marvinsapp) January 2, 2014
Sapp filed a restraining order against Patrick, who showed up at his home and reportedly harassed his children by phone.
Patrick’s family members called the revelations in the restraining order “surprising” and “confusing.” They say Patrick did not have a romantic interest in anyone. The family believe Patrick is a victim of foul play. Off the record, police suspected Patrick may have staged her own disappearance to attract the attention of her mystery man.
Patrick’s family released a statement saying, “The days since [Teleka’s disappearance] have been the most brutal, maddening all-consuming thing we have ever faced.”
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